New London Hospital (NLH) and Dr. Gregory Barban of Barban Eye Associates have reached an agreement for the hospital to incorporate Barban Eye Associates into their service line with the vision of providing the continuation of specialized eye care in the Lake Sunapee region.

Patients will notice little difference in the way the office functions as Dr. Barban’s staff and the optical shop will continue as it now does.

NLH and Dr. Barban have been working together in some capacity for many years as Dr. Barban utilizes the operating room and staff at NLH for many of his procedures.  After more than forty years performing eye surgery at New London Hospital, Dr. Barban will continue to provide clinical services in his current office. However, plans are in place for the surgical component of the practice to be performed by ophthalmologist Dr. Patrick Morhun.

“It is important for the community to know that I am not leaving,” says Dr. Barban. “It is just time to plan for the uninterrupted local practice of medical and surgical ophthalmology that our community has come to expect, and to continue to provide support for our area optometrists. I have known Dr. Morhun for many years, and respect his skills.  It has been common for us to ask each other to check in with a patient if either one of us is unavailable.”

As Dr. Barban steps out of the OR, he is confident his patients will be in good hands with Dr. Patrick Morhun, who was just named as one of NH Magazine’s Top Doctors for the third year in a row.  Dr. Morhun, originally from Canada, completed his residency at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA and began his own practice here in the Upper Valley in 1997. He is currently Chief of Ophthalmology at the Manchester, New Hampshire and White River Junction, VermontT Veteran Affairs Medical Centers where he performs cataract surgeries.

Morhun says, “I enjoy being able to improve the quality of a patient’s life. Every patient has a story and ever since I started my own clinic when I first arrived in the Upper Valley, I’ve made it a point to make sure I listen first.”  He adds, “I’m excited to join NLH and Greg Barban as they plan to continue providing the best available Ophthalmology services to the Lake Sunapee Region.”

As a member of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, 60% of NLH providers are dual credentialed at NLH and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center allowing NLH to provide an impressive list of specialty services to their community.

“We are thrilled to be able to join forces with Dr. Barban and his dedicated staff,” said Bruce King, President and CEO of NLH. “Our goal was to ensure the foundation of Greg’s hard work all these years remains here in this community. The addition of Ophthalmology and Dr. Morhun to NLH is a positive for everyone.”